Whisky Charlie Foxtrot in Aussie Readers

Dec 30, 2014 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: aussie-author, arc-are, netgalley-reviews

First published in Australia as 'Whisky, Charlie, Foxtrot' in 2012, Whiskey and Charlie is a moving and poignant novel, the story of identical twin brothers, Charlie and William (aka Whiskey) Ferns. Inseparable as children, rivals as teenagers and estranged as adults, their relationship is unresolved when William is badly injured in a freak accident. As Whiskey lies comatose, Charlie struggles to deal with all the things that remain unsaid between them.

"He must not die.He must not die because he
First published in Australia as 'Whisky, Charlie, Foxtrot' in 2012, Whiskey and Charlie is a moving and poignant novel, the story of identical twin brothers, Charlie and William (aka Whiskey) Ferns. Inseparable as children, rivals as teenagers and estranged as adults, their relationship is unresolved when William is badly injured in a freak accident. As Whiskey lies comatose, Charlie struggles to deal with all the things that remain unsaid between them.

"He must not die.He must not die because he, Charlie, needs more time....He had always thought there would be time"

The narrative shifts between present events and Charlie's memories of the past, gradually unraveling the reasons for the discord between the brothers. Each chapter is headed with a call sign from the International Phonetic Alphabet, with the designation woven cleverly into the story.

Charlie is both a sympathetic and frustrating character. Having always felt inferior to his much more outgoing and confident twin, Charlie has allowed his envy and resentment to sour many aspects of his life. It isn't until Whiskey's accident that Charlie examines his own conscience and is forced to confront the ways in which he has failed not only his brother, but himself.

"Charlie had spent all those months trying to find evidence that Whiskey was to blame for their estrangement, looking for justifications for his refusal to forgive Whiskey, excavating the last twentyfive years of their lives in order to come to some sort of definitive conclusion - which of the them was guilty, which of them was not. At last he saw the truth was somewhere between those things, that it wasn't all Whiskey's fault or all his own, that at times they had both done the right thing by each other, and at other times the wrong thing, that they'd both made mistakes and both come come good in their own ways..."

Smith's observations of the complicated relationships in her novel are astute and honest. her characters are believable, complex and vividly drawn. Emotion runs high as the characters sit vigil by Whiskey's bedside, with the author capturing the dizzying eddy of hope, grief, guilt and fear.

A heartfelt, compelling story about love, redemption and family, the last pages brought a tear to my eye.
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Dec 09, 2014 Kathy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

4.5 stars.

Whiskey and Charlie by Annabel Smith is a bittersweet novel of redemption that is sure to resonate with anyone who has experienced strained family relationships. It is an introspective and sometimes heartbreaking story of twin brothers, Whiskey and Charlie, who have drifted apart over the years. When Whiskey is severely injured in an accident, Charlie faces some very hard truths as he waits for Whiskey to emerge from his coma. Grief stricken at the thought that he might never reconcile 4.5 stars.

Whiskey and Charlie by Annabel Smith is a bittersweet novel of redemption that is sure to resonate with anyone who has experienced strained family relationships. It is an introspective and sometimes heartbreaking story of twin brothers, Whiskey and Charlie, who have drifted apart over the years. When Whiskey is severely injured in an accident, Charlie faces some very hard truths as he waits for Whiskey to emerge from his coma. Grief stricken at the thought that he might never reconcile with his brother, Charlie vacillates between hope and fear as months pass with little improvement in Whiskey's condition.

Charlie has lived in the shadow of his more outgoing and friendly brother for most of his life. Popular and well-liked with plenty of confidence, Whiskey fearlessly met every challenge that came his way. Charlie never felt like he quite measured up and he eventually grew to resent Whiskey's effortless successes. As he sits at Whiskey's bedside, Charlie tries to pinpoint exactly when their relationship was irrevocably broken and in doing so, he comes to the stunning conclusion that he shoulders part of the blame for the rift between them.

While Charlie is a sympathetic character, he is also very frustrating and sometimes difficult to like. In childhood, Charlie was open and kind, but as his jealousy of Whiskey's accomplishments grew, he gradually became defensive and guarded. As an adult, Charlie is closed off and protective in his relationships and his irrational fears make it impossible for him to make a permanent commitment. Charlie is incredibly judgmental and his unfair assessments lead to contentious relationships with much of his family. It is not until he is on the verge of losing the woman he loves that Charlie truly begins to heal.

The phonetic alphabet has special meaning to the brothers and Ms. Smith cleverly incorporates it into the story. Each chapter is named after one of the letters (alpha, bravo, charlie, etc) and these vignettes offer insight into the brothers' complicated relationship. Past and present are seamlessly woven into an incredibly emotional journey of self discovery that is ultimately quite uplifting.

Whiskey and Charlie by Annabel Smith is a thoroughly captivating novel that is poignant and moving. This beautifully written story offers a realistic peek into the mind of Charlie Ferns as he weathers the darkest days of his life. It is a truly unforgettable tale of hope and healing that will linger in readers' minds long after the last page is turned. ...more

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Feb 19, 2013 Russell rated it really liked it

Shelves: australians, signed

I don’t really think a synopsis of the book is necessary. It’s written above, so you know by now what it's about, plus I don’t want to give too much away, so I’ll get to the good stuff.

I picked this book up at Perth Writers Festival 2013 because I’d heard that the author Annabel Smith was a very talented writer, though I had never got around to reading her first book A New Map of the Universe. Plus I got the chance to meet her, have her sign my newly purchased copy of this book, and heard her t ...more

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Mar 07, 2013 Anne Hamilton rated it really liked it

Shelves: australia-nz

Full of compassion and warmth, this is an engaging book with appealing characters. Twins William and Charles have grown out of an intimate and loyal friendship into estranged rivalry. Their childhood game with two-way radios gave second-born Charles one of his rare moments he remembers to feel special: 'Charlie' is the call-sign in the International Phonetic Alphabet but there's no William. His marginally older therefore immediately adopts the name 'Whisky'.

With their lives on unyieldingly diver Full of compassion and warmth, this is an engaging book with appealing characters. Twins William and Charles have grown out of an intimate and loyal friendship into estranged rivalry. Their childhood game with two-way radios gave second-born Charles one of his rare moments he remembers to feel special: 'Charlie' is the call-sign in the International Phonetic Alphabet but there's no William. His marginally older therefore immediately adopts the name 'Whisky'.

With their lives on unyieldingly divergent tracks and several serious episodes of mutual alienation dividing them, Whisky is involved in a near-fatal accident. As he lies in a coma, Charlie has an opportunity to think over their lives and wonder whether his perspective is as clear-cut as it seemed in the past. Were his reactions as judgemental and self-righteous as they now seem?

Charlie needs Whisky to survive. He's suffering guilt and self-condemnation and he wants to put their relationship right. As the weeks pass and Whisky remains in the coma, a tyranny of hope begins to dominate Charlie as his relationships with others begin to change and, mostly, deteriorate. Juliet, Whisky's former girlfriend and now Charlie's live-in love, has been hinting for years she's wanted to get married. She even got to the point of asking Charlie. Months later, he still hasn't given her a definite answer and he can't admit aloud to the fear that, if he marries her, he'll lose her. Charlie has slipped into a whole series of no-win scenarios.

This is a great book with a really lovely ending.

I marked it down because I need consistent punctuation as a signal to how to read the text. With such a deep, deep point-of-view as portrayed in this story, the differentiation between thoughts and spoken dialogue was not always clear, since there were no speech marks. Sometimes there were italics for thoughts, but not always.

I notice this is a stylistic convention that seems to occur in books coming out of Western Australia. I'm not convinced of its value: it bumps me so thoroughly out of the story, I see it as simply a literary affectation. And when the point-of-view is so very deep, it's a disappointment to come out of it simply for the sake of an unnecessary style. I didn't mind the story's essentially episodic nature. I found I was almost revelling in the introduction of new characters who would fit the alphabetic sequence. But the inconsistency of punctuation when it came to speech threw me continually. A regrettable lapse in an otherwise wonderful book. ...more

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